The government of Ecuador has offered a new proposal to the British government in their standoff over Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Assange is currently taking refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer questions over alleged sex crimes. Ecuador says it has asked Britain whether Assange could be sent to Sweden under its protection, which would thereby safeguard him from the threat of further extradition to the United States.